MICHIGAN IMMIGRANTS NEED SAFE ZONE POLICIES Cate McClure, Consultant | February 2019

LEAGUE RECOMMENDATION

The governor’s office can and should issue a comprehensive executive order along with guidance documents implementing safe zone policies to safeguard the rights of immigrants when using state facilities, including schools, healthcare facilities and courthouses while allowing these agencies to carry out their missions. In conjunction with the executive order, the attorney general should issue guidance documents confirming the legality of such policies with implementation guidance, particularly for the courts and state law enforcement agencies.

Background

Safe Zone Policies and Why They Are Needed Michigan Immigrant Facts With vulnerable immigrant communities under attack from the Trump administration and deportations rising at an unprecedented 6.4% rate across the country, governors and attorneys general are using of Michiganders their executive powers to create policies intended to help are immigrants immigrants feel safe in their communities—safe to attend schools, to use the courts and to seek necessary medical attention without the fear of deportation or family separation. 13% Safe zone policies can be created through executive order by the of kids in Michigan are governor’s office and implemented through advisory and guidance a part of an immigrant documents issued by both the governor and attorney general. These family policies generally provide that state facilities, including state-funded schools, universities, healthcare centers and courts, may not grant 50% access or provide information not otherwise required by law to of kids in immigrant Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents without a valid families have all parents court-issued warrant reviewed by appropriate personnel at the in the labor force facility. Safe zone policies may also preclude law enforcement officers and other state officers and employees from asking about immigration status where irrelevant to the services being provided, 25% or in the case of law enforcement officers, the illegal activity under of kids in immigrant investigation. families live in poverty Communities with these protections have had statistically lower of all Michigan immigrants crime rates, with unauthorized immigrants willing to serve as 18.4% were uninsured

Michigan League for Public Policy, 1223 Turner Street, Suite G1, Lansing, MI 48906-4369 Phone 517.487.5436 • Fax 517.371.4546 • www.mlpp.org • A United Way Agency witnesses and report criminal activity, and stronger economies, with less poverty and lower unemployment, than jurisdictions without such protections.1

The Legality of Safe Zone Policies Safe zone policies are legal and necessary for the well-being of immigrants and our local communities. The mere fact that an individual is not lawfully in the United States is not, in itself, a crime, and there is no legal requirement that state and local facilities detain such individuals or even share information with Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents unless a valid criminal warrant is presented. Safe zone policies protect the constitutional rights of immigrants and assure that the mission of the state’s schools, medical centers and courts is not jeopardized.

Existing Statewide Safe Zone Policies Across the Country Safe zone policies have been implemented in states and localities across the country through various means, including legislation, executive orders, and local ordinances and policies adopted by municipalities, schools, universities, and healthcare facilities. State-level laws and policies have been implemented in numerous states, including New York, Vermont, California and Oregon. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a 2017 executive order prohibiting state agencies from inquiring into immigration status and disclosing data, and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued guidance documents providing the legal basis for the order and model language for localities to use to limit local agency participation in federal immigration activities. In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown issued a 2017 executive order prohibiting state agencies from assisting with the detection and detention of undocumented immigrants and collecting information relating to immigration status, unless otherwise required by law. Connecticut, Illinois, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington have also enacted statewide measures to appropriately limit law enforcement cooperation with immigration authorities.

Recommendations for Action

Governor’s Office: The League recommends that Gov. Attorney General’s Office: The League recommends Gretchen Whitmer take quick action to assure the immi- that the attorney general’s office create guidance docu- grant community that they are safe and secure in the state ments to supplement the governor’s executive order, which of Michigan. The governor should issue a comprehensive would include: executive order that protects the civil rights of immigrants  The legal basis for the safe zone policies adopted in by prohibiting state entities from: the executive order, including in detail the rights and  Inquiring about immigration status unless required by obligations of schools, hospitals and other healthcare law and necessary to the services being provided, or organizations, law enforcement agencies, and courts in the case of law enforcement, related to the crime to protect immigrants civil rights; being investigated;  Community education materials regarding the legality  Disclosing immigration status to federal immigration of safe zone policies and more specific legal guidance officials unless required by law; and on the issue when useful; and  Detaining individuals on the basis of immigration sta-  Model safe zone policies that localities can voluntarily tus without a valid federal warrant. enact, consistent with current federal law, to appropri- ately limit law enforcement and local agency partici-

pation in federal immigration activities.

1. Center for American Progress, The Effects of Sanctuary Policies on Crime and the Economy, 2017, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/ reports/2017/01/26/297366/the-effects-of-sanctuary-policies-on-crime-and-the-economy/

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